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Econintersect: Here are some of the headlines we found to help you start your day. For more headlines see our afternoon feature for GEI members, What We Read Today, which has many more headlines and a number of article discussions to keep you abreast of what we have found interesting.

Global

Asian shares extend losses after China prices cool (Reuters) Asian shares tottered on Wednesday, extending losses after consumer inflation in China eased more than expected and heightened concerns about deflationary pressures in the world's second-largest economy. China's consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.6% in September from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) said, falling short of expectations of 1.8% and down from August's 2.0%.

Major World Indices (Investing.com) There is a lot of red this morning in Europe and Asia. Data shown as of 2:45 am New York time 14 October. For latest data click on chart.

The Financial Crisis is Back (Casey Research) Analysts at Goldman Sachs (GS) say the emerging market stocks crash (down 32% this summer) recently isn't just a run-of-the-mill selloff. It's the next phase of the global financial crisis that began in 2007. The U.S financial crisis back then was phase 1. Phase 2 was Europe's sovereign debt crisis in 2012, when entire countries like Greece, Portugal, Ireland, and Spain almost went bankrupt. Goldman says we are now in phase 3.

Expect Opec members to keep their feet on the production accelerator (Financial Times) There was a time when, due to their large share in total oil exports and their relatively low average production costs, the oil cartel had a meaningful influence on oil prices - so much so that its members could also have an impact on the behavior of non-OPEC producers. That was gradually eroded by the growing importance of external producers, before the cartel was dealt a huge blow by shale innovations and adoption. Now the OPEW producers strive to preserve market share regardless of price.

Oil Slide Means `Almost Everything' for Sale as Deals Accelerate (Bloomberg) More than $200 billion worth of oil and natural gas assets are for sale globally as companies come under renewed financial pressure from the prolonged commodity price rout, according to IHS Inc. There are about 400 buying opportunities as of September, IHS Chief Upstream Strategist Bob Fryklund said in an interview. Deals will accelerate later this year and into 2016 as companies sell assets to meet debt requirements, he said. West Texas Intermediate crude has averaged about $51 a barrel this year, more than 40% below the five-year mean.

Human Population Growth: How Human Activity Threatens Our Survival (Doomstead Diner) The total biomass of all the ants on Earth is roughly equal to the total biomass of all the people on Earth. How much climate change can be attributed to ants? This author suggests it is not the number of people affecting the Earth. That leaves the important factor of human actions (not human presence) as the focus of how to save the planet.

Last big chunk of GE Capital sold to Wells Fargo (Fortune) Six months after General Electric announced it would sell off most of its financial arm GE Capital, that divesting process is nearly complete. Yesterday the company announced it would sell a large portion of GE Capital - its commercial lending and leasing businesses with roughly $32 billion in assets - to Wells Fargo, representing the industrial conglomerate's largest divestiture to date. The deal also brings the tally of GE's selloffs to $126 billion in assets, or nearly two-thirds of the $200 billion it plans to exit overall. The rest are mostly overseas and smaller units. Econinteresect: This is the way to end all TBTF situations.

The US is closer to deflation than you think (CNBC) Most of the U.S. outside of the West is deflating over the past few months. While many are talking about deflation risk in Europe, fewer are noticing how close to deflation is the U.S.

UK

Four in five Londoners think house prices are too expensive, ING says (City A.M.) More than 80 per cent% majority believe it is becoming increasingly difficult for first-time buyers to get a foot onto the property ladder, according to new research released today. The Dutch banking giant ING's house price optimism index, which surveys over 15,000 people, found that the majority of European consumers (56%) believe that prices will rise over the next 12 months, with confidence up by three percentage points from last year. But 26% (only slightly different from 28% last year) are struggling to pay their rent or mortgage each month.

Volkswagen changes diesel technology plan after emissions scandal (Financial Times) Less than a month after VW admitted its diesel vehicles in the US had cheated in emissions tests, the German carmaker said its "diesel vehicles will only be equipped with exhaust emissions systems that use the best environmental technology". But VW also plans to intensify development of electric cars and plug-in hybrids, and will look at whether some smaller vehicles could use petrol instead of diesel.

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